Shock severity, the national coach is quitting, the news hit the news agencies at the beginning of the week. But Alfred Gislason, 65, just put on the smug grin that he always uses when he can’t quite understand the excitement surrounding something. Yes, he mentioned in an interview in an aside that after the home World Cup in 2027 it would probably be over for him as national coach. But that was “actually no news at all,” said the Icelander.
Firstly, his contract with the German Handball Federation (DHB) was extended for exactly this cycle until the World Cup in his own country. Secondly, three years until 2027 is a damn long time. The new national team manager Benjamin Chatton was also amused by the urgency of the questions. Everything’s fine, said Chatton: “As long as Alfred doesn’t apply for partial retirement…”
The German Handball Association has announced the six locations for the 2027 World Cup: Munich is there as the preliminary round location for the German team. Otherwise there are surprises.
Partial retirement, a little joke just like Gislason’s taste. The DHB has just avoided a lame-duck discussion about its very experienced national coach. There are really more important things than the question of whether you have to look for a new national coach in three years (or whether Gislason can be persuaded again). First and foremost, the two international matches on Thursday in Mannheim against Switzerland (6.30 p.m., sportschau.de) and on Sunday in Turkey (3.10 p.m., ARD), which are not special because they mark the start of European Championship qualification. If necessary, the U21 team should also be able to get one of the first two places in the qualifying group with Switzerland, Türkiye and Austria.
Max Beneke is a great talent, but the World Cup might come too early for him
What is more urgent is that the national team finally meets again after winning the silver medal at the Olympics in Paris. In fact, it is the only opportunity for Gislason to sharpen his automatisms or try something out before they get together at the end of December for immediate preparation for the World Cup. That’s certainly not ideal, and now a good portion of the regular lineup – in handball we call it the first seven – has left the team injured.
In principle, Gislason is delighted that the change in the team worked so well. Second place at the Olympics wasn’t even planned, so his young team was a huge surprise. But around fixed points like center man Juri Knorr, defense chief Julian Köster and backcourt player Renars Uscins, a team was formed quicker than expected that not only gave the national coach a lot of joy. Unforgettable was how the Germans forced the French into extra time in the quarter-finals at the Olympics: In a crazy situation four seconds before the final siren, Köster intercepted a ball from the French with his miserably long arms and passed it to Uscins, who took it with the final siren to equalize Gate accommodated. In extra time, Germany won 35:34.
But now Uscins is the only one from the highly gifted combination who is on board for the international matches. Knorr is suffering from a thumb injury, Köster is suffering from a torn inner ligament. Philipp Weber, who is having a strong season in Magdeburg and could have been a replacement for Knorr, is also injured, as is Franz Semper. So Gislason has to tinker more than he would like, so right winger Timo Kastening (MT Melsungen) and the middle men Nils Lichtlein (Füchse Berlin) and Lukas Stutzke (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf) return to the national team. He also has to build a new inner block in the middle of the defense – without Köster. In Max Beneke, also from Füchse Berlin, the Icelander is also taking with him a highly gifted talent that German handball should have a lot of fun with in the future, even if the upcoming World Cup may come too early for the right back player.
Shortly before the World Cup, Gislason would have preferred concentrated squad work with the well-rehearsed team. You have to “get on track quickly,” said Gislason at the course in Großwallstadt: “Especially the players who come off the bench are not well-rehearsed.” Every training session is therefore important. The DHB team still has fond memories of their last appearance against Switzerland: in the world record game at the start of the 2024 home European Championship in the Düsseldorf football stadium, they beat the neighboring country 27:14 – albeit with Knorr and Köster. Without them it could be more stressful.
Gislason did say something substantial about his future as a coach. He definitely wants to remain a coach – so much for partial retirement – even if he will be 68 years old in 2027. “The fact is, I once tried to stop playing handball,” said Gislason. That was in 2019 when he left THW Kiel after eleven years. His conclusion: “It didn’t work.”
